Citra Terranova
Character Analysis

One of the two teenage protagonists of the novel, the other being Rowan. Seventeen-year-old Citra is quick to anger and, when the reader first meets her, both fears and loathes scythes. She does, however, understand some of the less enticing concepts that Scythe Faraday proposes, such as that everything humans do is pointless now that humans are immortal. Citra is initially angry and distraught when Faraday asks her to be an apprentice, but she accepts the position in the hope that by becoming a scythe, she'll be able to insure her brother Ben's immunity. Though Citra behaves rudely and derisively to Rowan most of the time, she secretly nurses a crush on him. This is complicated by the fact that only one of them can win and become a scythe, and Citra loves to win—though she's not sure she wants to win this competition, as if she does, she'll have to glean Rowan. An extremely loyal person, Citra is distraught and unmoored when Faraday self-gleans and she's taken on by Scythe Curie. Her first few months training with Faraday taught her that not all scythes are good and honorable, so she suspects that Faraday was murdered by the corrupt Scythe Goddard and secretly tries to collect information to prove this hunch. After being accused of murdering Faraday herself, Citra eventually discovers Faraday in hiding and retirement in Amazonia, and he resumes her training. Both Faraday and Curie teach Citra that the most important thing she can do is be compassionate and kind as she gleans. Citra is ultimately the one to receive her scythe's ring and become ordained, and she takes Anastasia Romanov as her Patron Historic. She suggests that by doing this, she can act as a symbol for the future. Citra's persistent crush on Rowan means that she finds a loophole—punching him with her ring—to give him immunity and get out of gleaning him, and she orchestrates his escape from Winter Conclave.

Citra Terranova Quotes in Scythe

The Scythe quotes below are all either spoken by Citra Terranova or refer to Citra Terranova. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

).
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Simon & Schuster edition of Scythe published in 2017.

Chapter 1
Quotes

The growth of civilization was complete. Everyone knew it. When it came to the human race, there was no more left to learn. Nothing about our own existence to decipher. Which meant that no one person was more important than any other. In fact, in the grand scheme of things, everyone was equally useless.

She assumed she would go to college, get a degree in something pleasant, then settle into a comfortable job, meet a comfortable guy, and have a nice, unremarkable life. It's not that she longed for such an existence, but it was expected. Not just of her, but of everyone. With nothing to really aspire to, life had become about maintenance.

The idea that not all scythes were good was something neither Rowan or Citra had ever considered. It was widely accepted that scythes adhered to the highest moral and ethical standards. They were wise in their dealings and fair in their choices. Even the ones who sought celebrity were seen to deserve it. The idea that some scythes might not be as honorable as Scythe Faraday did not sit well with either of his new apprentices.

They removed their raincoats to reveal robes of all colors, all textures. It was a rainbow that summoned forth anything but thoughts of death. This, Citra realized, was intentional. Scythes wished to be seen as the many facets of light, not of darkness.

"Every scythe has his or her own method. That happens to be mine. In the Age of Mortality, death would often come with no warning. It is our task to mimic what we've stolen from nature—and so that is the face of death I've chosen to recreate. My gleanings are always instantaneous and always public, lest people forget what we do, and why we must do it."

"I was headstrong and stupid in my early days. I thought that by gleaning just the right people at just the right time, I could change the world for the better. I believed, in my arrogance, that I had a keen grasp of the big picture that others lack. But of course, I was just as limited as everyone else."

It was then it occurred to her that every scythe, since the Scythedom began, had to take this test. Every single one of them was forced to take the life of someone they loved. Yes, that person would be revived, but it didn't change the cold-blooded act. A person's subconscious mind can't differentiate between permanent and temporary killings.

"Had she lived, who knows what she might have done. Perhaps she could have changed the world and redeemed her family name. I choose to be Scythe Anastasia. I vow to become the change that might have been."

In January, Citra receives an invitation to the opera in the mail. Receiving it by mail is the...
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...get the opera invitation until Faraday showed up. After the opera, Faraday gives Rowan and Citra a card and tells him to meet him at the address in the morning. The...
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...suggests that that art in those galleries is less troubled. Faraday suggests it's uninspired, which Citra says is just an opinion, and Faraday encourages them to look for the emotion in...
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...profile: lots of people used to drown in flooded rivers trying to save their pets. Citra emerges from a bedroom, having sedated the man's dogs and suffered a bite, and Rowan...
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Citra is impressed by how Rowan behaved, as he did most of the emotional work. She...
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Chapter 10

...they see Rowan's armband. Rowan is frustrated; the only person who challenges him now is Citra. He hates how afraid of him everyone is.
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...since Faraday is gleaning in another city. Rowan briefly thinks he wants Tyger to meet Citra, but then realizes he doesn't want to take the chance that Citra will be attracted...
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After three months, Citra has decided that she wants Faraday to choose her to be a scythe. She understands...
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Chapter 11

In early May, Scythe Faraday takes only Citra with him to a gleaning of a young man with a wife and two kids....
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Every night, Citra is tasked with bringing Faraday a glass of warm milk before bed. Often, after difficult...
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Chapter 12

A week before Vernal Conclave in May, Scythe Faraday explains to Citra and Rowan what the conclave is. It exists because the Scythedom isn't controlled by the...
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A few days before conclave, Rowan and Citra stay up late studying. Citra, riled, slams her book shut and tries to quiz Rowan...
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Chapter 13

...taking a standard train the day before and at 6:30 in the morning, he leads Citra and Rowan to the Capitol Building. Citra is concerned when she realizes that the High...
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In the rotunda, there's an elaborate breakfast spread. Faraday points out several notable scythes to Citra and Rowan, including Scythe Curie, who's known as the Grande Dame of Death. Citra notices...
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Rowan tries to hide how nervous he is from Citra. He inserts himself into a conversation between two older teens who expect to get their...
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...everyone is seated, the scythes stand to each recite ten names of people they gleaned. Citra is bored quickly. Then, the scythes ceremonially wash their hands, which continues to bore Citra,...
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Lunch is a lavish buffet and uncharacteristically, Faraday fills his plate. Curie approaches Rowan and Citra and tells them that for scythes who take their vows seriously, conclave is the only...
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Chapter 14

Citra and Rowan join the other six apprentices in lining up in front of the assembly....
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...he fears most. Rowan nonchalantly insists he's not afraid of anything, which Curie deems unacceptable. Citra wants to hit Rowan, as she knows he's doing this to make her feel better....
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Chapter 15

During the train ride home, Citra tries to say that she won't glean Rowan. Rowan points out that whoever wins will...
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...silent affair. Faraday finally speaks and says he's going out alone, but for Rowan and Citra, nothing has changed. After Faraday leaves, the tension in the house rises. Rowan stays in...
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Chapter 17

Citra and Rowan wake up after midnight to the sound of pounding on the front door....
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Rowan, Citra, and Xenocrates take a private hypertrain to Xenocrates's home in Fulcrum City. He lives in...
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Chapter 18

Scythe Curie takes Citra to her home near the eastern edge of MidMerica. The house is called Falling Water....
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Citra wakes up hours later when Curie flips on the light in her room. Curie asks...
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After blueberry pancakes the next morning, Curie and Citra go out gleaning. Curie drives an antique Porsche and explains that it was a gift...
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...arrives at Curie's home that evening. Curie grants them immunity immediately and then she and Citra serve dinner. Curie asks the man's wife to tell her about her husband, and soon,...
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Citra understands, but thinks Curie's offer didn't do much good—she or Rowan will still have to...
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Chapter 19

That night, Citra asks how Scythe Curie knew she was lying during her test at conclave and admits...
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...to "them." Curie tells Rhonda they're not here to glean, so Rhonda closes the door. Citra explains that they used to go to school together, and asks if Rhonda remembers falling...
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Citra is both relieved and humiliated. On the way home, Curie points out that in the...
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This idea sticks in Citra's head. She thinks of how, before becoming the Thunderhead, criminals and governments abused the information...
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Chapter 20

...to Goddard's residence, Rowan starts thinking to himself that he's going to die. He and Citra are still opponents and he knows he can't kill her, so he vows to let...
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Chapter 21

...to earth when scythes shake his hand and wish him luck in the competition against Citra. On the afternoon of the second day, Goddard calls an end to the party, and...
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Chapter 22

Citra spends her days training and gleaning with Curie. She learns to recognize the signs of...
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Curie leaves reaching out to the families of the gleaned to Citra. Citra discovers that this is so she can develop compassion. One afternoon, Citra can only...
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Citra approaches a clergyman in the chapel. He introduces himself as Curate Beauregard and grudgingly agrees...
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Angrily, Citra picks up a mallet and hits the bident as hard as she can. It resonates...
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Chapter 23

Citra begins spending an hour or two every day on Scythe Curie's computer, looking through the...
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Curie walks Citra up to her family's apartment. Citra feels as though she's longing for something and notices...
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On the ride home, Citra asks Curie if anyone ever calls her by the name she was born with. Slowly,...
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Chapter 24

...his journal, but it's not genuine—Goddard reads everything. Rowan sometimes ignores his vow to let Citra win the scythehood, and he wonders if he'd be like Faraday or like Goddard. He...
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...and his group arrive in a diamond-studded limousine. Nobody notices Rowan trailing behind. Curie and Citra walk to the Capitol Building through a crowd. Several people try to touch Curie's robes...
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People surround Rowan before he can find Citra. Young apprentices ask what Goddard is like and speak poorly of their own mentors. Rowan...
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...waves this away. Curie tries to object but can't. She murmurs that Goddard is untouchable. Citra avoids Rowan at lunch and gets to meet old, revered scythes like Scythe Mandela. They...
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...calls the other apprentices to him for a Bokator competition as their test. Rowan and Citra fight each other last. Rowan knows that he has to throw the match but make...
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Chapter 28

Citra is pronounced legally alive after two days. Curie visits that night and tells her that...
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...and Rowan play pool and discuss the possibility that someone killed Faraday. Volta thinks that Citra is messing with Rowan. Rowan suggests that he start taking Esme on his runs with...
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Chapter 29

On Citra and Scythe Curie's first day back at Falling Water, Citra confesses that she's been researching...
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...while Curie is at the market, two BladeGuard officers come to Curie's home and ask Citra to come with them. They refuse to show her badges and Citra attacks them. One...
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...concerned until he sees that Nimbus agents—people who work for the Thunderhead—are the ones scraping Citra off the pavement. An agent says that while Citra is dead, she's under the Thunderhead's...
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Chapter 30

Citra can hear someone talking to her and realizes that it's the Thunderhead. When she points...
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Chapter 31

Citra is alive again on Thursday morning. As she comes to, she hears a nurse say...
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Citra wakes up in a cabin and minutes later, Curie comes in with soup. She explains...
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A Chileargentine scythe enters the room, speaks to Curie in Spanic, and leaves. Curie tells Citra that the local scythes are on their way to get her, so Citra will need...
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...on the door. Curie opens the door, shocking San Martín. He says he's here for Citra and pushes into the cabin. San Martín finds footprints out the back and sends his...
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Chapter 32

Citra does as she's told and changes publicars every hour for the next day. She changes...
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In the bathroom, a man bursts in, puts a knife to Citra's throat, and tells her that he's going to glean her. She admits that she's a...
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Citra changes into street clothes from someone's luggage, and Possuelo advises her to take several different...
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Citra finds the house she's looking for and settles in to observe. She knows that she...
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Chapter 33

Citra carries Faraday inside and bandages his leg. He begins to wake and refuses to let...
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Chapter 34

...Rowan is ordained, but Rowan knows that Volta won't follow through. Volta points out that Citra is gone and won't get the ring—Rowan just has to pass the final test. Rowan...
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Several weeks before Winter Conclave, Citra flies home to Curie. She arrives to an apology note from Scythe Mandela, and Curie...
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During her time with Faraday, Citra thought a lot about the morals and ethics of being a scythe. She knows that...
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Chapter 37

...his apprenticeship. Xenocrates says that Rowan will still take the final test, and he or Citra will still have to glean the other. Maxim Easley arrives with champagne, and when Xenocrates...
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Chapter 38

The day before Winter Conclave, Scythe Curie drives Citra to Fulcrum City. She'll take her test tonight and get her results tomorrow. Citra is...
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Horrified, Citra shouts that they can't make her do this. One female scythe steps forward, offers Citra...
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The committee immediately begins to lob criticisms at Citra. Some feel she was compassionate; others think she's sloppy and took unnecessary risks. They dismiss...
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Chapter 39

...of the stairs wishes Rowan luck and invites him for tea if he achieves scythehood. Citra stands with Scythe Curie, listening to the chatter about the tragedy at the Tonist cloister....
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Curie anxiously says that Scythe Mandela told her that Citra performed well last night, but she says she won't forgive herself if Citra loses. Citra...
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